Tokyo − In July, a special programme, The Great Asian Highway 2015, will travel today’s “Silk Road” from Turkey to China and Japan for stories of the rapid changes now taking place along the way.

The 5-episode special series will be aired on NHK WORLD TV, NHK’s international TV channel, which delivers not only information from Japan but also the latest stories from the whole of Asia.

The programme features the present situation in Turkey, Iran and Central Asian states after the Soviet Union’s collapse that took place almost a quarter century ago. In Central Asia, it describes how each country is striving to survive; making the most of its assets like rich mineral resources, geographical location and other strengths for economic development. There are two in-depth episodes on Iran, a country which is said to be hard to access for Western media. Topics include a market full of daily commodities despite economic sanctions, social participation by women, and the city of holy pilgrimage attracting 20 million people a year, bringing the latest from Iran to global viewers.